How to Choose the Perfect
by LyranStar
Summary: [ToE ToD2] ReidKeele In the snow village in Celestia, why does Keele think twice about wearing the evening gown... If you've played this scene, it'll make sense. :


_Title: How to Choose the Perfect..._

_Warning: shameless hints of shounen-ai (slash) - Reid/Keele_

_Type: This is supposed to be humor. If you don't laugh, then I've failed. Yes, and it's unbeta'd. That, and I wrote it late one night. Be forewarned of strange use of the English language._

_Summary: The scene in the snow village on Celestia, when they're trying on different outfits..._

_Inspiration: For those of us who thought it was strange that Keele actually considered the evening gown in the snow village when Reid gets the option to hand it to him... Yes, the reactions Keele has for each outfit is basically what he does in the game, believe it or not..._

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Reid picked up the evening gown, feeling the soft silk slide between his fingers. All of his friends were having trouble finding the perfect winter clothes. It amazed Reid just how picky they all were.

But… why was this here at the winter store? It was pretty. It was girly. Which of his companions did he want to try this on?

The first person that came to mind was, unsurprisingly, Keele. The blue-haired magician almost deserved to try on the heavy girl's dress at Reid's behest, considering how bothersome he was at times.

"Oh, hey Keele," Reid said, trying to hide the amusement from his voice as he leaned in close to the doorframe. "Try this one on."

There was a surprised, "Oh? What's it look like?"

Reid shoved it behind the curtain, not failing to take a quick peek. He did it with everyone, as all 18-year-old boys tended to do.

"Just try it."

"…"

There was a moment of silence. Reid folded his arms, waiting patiently while anticipating the scream, the yells, the not-so-endearing terms that were sure to flood from Keele's dressing room door.

…But they never came. In fact, there was a little bit of rustling. Was Keele trying the gown on?

Reid wanted to look, just to see. It was tempting, for a laugh. Sure, he felt a little guilty when he brushed the curtain open a tad and looked in. But it was only for a moment, and Keele didn't see.

And there he was, in all his pale glory; Keele, wearing a full, long, one-piece evening gown. It was a bit tight around the hips, loose around the waist, and definitely lacking around the chest – but all in all, it wasn't half bad.

Reid couldn't hide the snirk, but Keele didn't catch it.

"What's that?"

"Nothing!" Reid responded quickly. "H—how's it coming in there? You like it?"

"Well," came the slow response. Oh no, Keele was thinking about it! "…It's not bad. A bit heavy, though. You should probably put it back…"

Reid couldn't believe his ears. He was sure the maniac grin on his face was showing, and the girl behind the counter saw it, but she sure as heck didn't know what it was about.

"Oh, no no," Reid countered, trying to sound like this was important. "Let's see what it looks like. You don't sound so sure. I'll try to give you my honest opinion."

"…That's not reassuring," Keele sighed. "But… alright."

Keele opened the curtain. The long, violet gown shimmered in the light of the winter apparel store.

Reid stared, his jaw dropping unashamedly. Keele spun around, modeling off the gown with grace.

"…I don't know," Keele shrugged, looking down. His cheeks were pink. "Is it me?"

Reid almost couldn't find words. When he did, he naturally said the wrong thing. "If you let your hair down, it'd be perfect!"

"What?" Keele stepped back, blushing a profound shade of red. It was about then that he realized something was wrong with his choice in costume. "My hair? What are you trying to say?"

At the sound of the yells, the lady behind the counter looked over. She put her hands to her cheeks and smiled.

"Oh, that's lovely, miss—uuhh…" She never managed to finish her sentence once she realized who was wearing the dress.

To spare Keele more embarrassment, Reid pushed Keele back into the changing room, this time following behind. He shut the curtain, making Keele look at his reflection in the mirror.

"Do you realize what's wrong?" Reid said, a serious tone hitting his voice.

Keele, for once, had no idea. His eyebrows knitted in frustration, trying to figure out what Reid was complaining about.

"Fine, fine, let me show you." Reid had no shame, letting his hands do half of the talking. "You've got it all wrong here, here, and…here."

At the sound of here, here, and here, Reid had placed his hands on Keele's hips, his waist, and finally where breasts should have been, had the blue-haired mage been female.

Reid was having a good time feeling Keele up, too. If Keele's pale face hadn't been so red as Reid pulled his hair loose from the tight tail he'd always kept it in, Reid would have tried more than that. With his hair down, long around his shoulders, Keele appeared even more effeminate than usual – which sadly didn't take much effort.

Brushing the strands down as Keele just stared, wide-eyed in shock, Reid pat his friend on the shoulder. He leaned in close and whispered, "Now do you see what's wrong?"

Contrary to what he was saying, Reid thought Keele looked rather nice. Unfortunately, the pretty dress would never last.

"Oh my god," Keele gasped, a light of realization dawning in his educated eyes. "I… I.. don't think this color works at all…"

For the second time that day, Reid wondered how much common sense Keele had underneath that Einsteinian brain of his. He pulled Keele back with an arm around the waist (earning both a gasp and a "what do you think you're—?"), and grinned when he leaned in to whisper into Keele's ear again.

"It's a dress," Reid explained simply, easily. He smoothed down the fabric from around Keele's stomach, then down around his legs. "Really. You shouldn't have even tried to put it on. It was a joke."

Keele was torn between the shock of Reid touching him with such ease, and the desire to punch his friend between the eyes (though he knew it would only hurt his hand in the end.) Why didn't he notice it until now? He had no answer.

"R….Reid…" Keele was seething as he peeled Reid's fingers away slowly. "…I can't believe you! Get out of here!"

When Keele pushed him out, Reid did as he was told. He could hear Keele muttering and cursing under his breath from behind the curtain.

Thankfully the girls were able to take care of themselves in the meantime.

After a minute, Reid asked, "…Are you alright? I can put that back for you…"

Silence.

"…Keele? Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—."

"…Reid?" Keele's voice was small, so Reid leaned in close to hear. "…I can't get this thing off…"

Reid knew an opportunity when he saw one, rushing back into the curtained dressing room to unhook the tousled mess of dress on his strange friend. It seemed his hair (which Reid had let down in the first place) had gotten tangled in some of the hooks.

In silence, Reid slowly fixed the problem, feeling the soft silk of Keele's hair between his fingers each time. It was really as nice as he'd imagined it to be.

"S—stop staring and just help me out," Keele whined, turning his face away from the mirror. He was fidgeting as Reid kept brushing his fingers across his neck and now-open back. It wasn't the redhead's fault this time, but it made Keele blush in the strangest way. "It's not that unusual to see a man in a dress.. is it?"

Reid laughed. "Umm… Well, actually…" He couldn't just lie about it.

"… I can't believe I didn't notice…" Keele was obviously distraught, lowering his voice. "No wonder I thought it was heavy. This material is obviously not fit for men."

Reid grinned, unable to resist slipping a few fingers under the back fabric as he unzipped the gown, touching the soft skin beneath.

"I don't know," Reid traced a line down Keele's spine. "I think it looks good on you."

Keele tensed and lurched away instinctively. "R—Reid, stop that! I think I can get the rest off on my own, thanks."

"Fine, fine!" Reid lifted his hands into the air, rolling his eyes. "Complain, complain! You're the one that asked me to help."

"You've done enough, thanks!"

With that, Reid was pushed out of the dressing room once again. Waiting just a moment longer, Keele shimmied out of the gown and handed it, neatly folded, back to Reid.

Reid set it back on the shelf, grinning as another costume caught his eye. A tight, slim ninja outfit, one-size-fits-all, complete with an array of fake weaponry!

…Hey, it was worth a shot.

"Oh, Keele!" Reid sing-songed, knocking on the edge of Keele's dressing room again. "Try this one."

"Alright, what does it look like?" Keele was caught, again. What an unsuspecting guy.

"Just try it."

"Okay."

Keele opened the curtain, just a flap. Reid handed over the tight costume, hoping to catch yet another glimpse at Keele in something unusual.

Unfortunately, this time, Keele realized it was a bad idea.

"Reid!" Keele fumed, stretching a nekkid hand out from behind the curtain. "This is a girl's outfit! Take it back!"

"Huh?" Reid was perplexed, catching the costume as it fell. "…It was only a ninja costume…"

"You're such a per— a… a jerk, Reid."

"What the heck did I do?" Reid snorted, in between a laugh and a gripe. "Fine, fine, I'll get you something you like this time."

There was muttering from behind the curtain when Reid walked away. He set the costume back, ready to hand over the Santa costume (the short skirt was cute), or the Katz costume (but it was actually pretty un-cute), but he was fed up with Keele's attitude and wanted to get it right this time.

But… the cloak or the heavy cloak? Knowing Keele would freeze as soon as he stepped out the door, the heavy cloak seemed right… the lighter one was the same color as his skin, anyway.

"Okay, Keele," Reid said, handing the heavy cloak through the curtain, purposely forgetting to knock first. "Take this one. I know you'll like it."

"Can I even trust you?" Keele whined, but took the material from Reid's hands anyway. "…Ooh…"

Reid couldn't help but grin. That 'ooh' was a good sound, a very good sound, especially from Keele.

There was some rustling. It sounded like this was it. Keele didn't even need to be undressed to put this one on, either. It wasn't a whole new outfit; it just went over his old one.

There was a gasp, another 'ooh,' and a couple of 'hmm's. As Reid closed in on another peek (just what was so awe-inspiring about a cloak?), Keele choked back a happy cry.

"I love it!" The mage burst from the dressing room with a bright smile on his face that actually appeared genuine. "Look, Reid. Tell me what you think!"

Keele even spun around, letting the cloak swish around him like a fashion model. He had already managed to put his long hair back in the stray ponytail, but he still managed to appear like a giddy girl on a date.

Reid stepped back to admire his friend. He placed a hand on his hip and one to his chin, looking Keele up and down. This sort of slow observation unnerved the blue-haired boy the most.

"…You don't like it?"

"It's fantastic," Reid smiled, patting Keele on the back. Keele winced, frail thing that he was, but Reid barely noticed. "Looks great."

Keele beamed. "R—really? Yes, of course. The material composition is simply perfect for this weather; not too heavy, not too light or thin. The aerodynamics allow me to move with ease, and it keeps me pleasantly war—!"

Reid clamped Keele's mouth shut, leaning in to kiss the boy on the forehead.

"Shut up, Keele. You're not cute when you talk technical."

Keele stammered, the blush on his face the color of cherries. "B—b—bu—yuh… But that wasn't te—tech…technic—."

"All done!" They heard a bright, cheery voice come from the opposite two dressing rooms, interrupting the tension. Farah and Meredy danced in their new winter clothes. Meredy began to giggle.

"Keele's face is bright!" she cheered, coming close to inspect. "Is something wrong?"

Keele shook his head, blushing further. "N—no, nothing's wrong. Your outfit is very, uhh, very cute, Meredy."

"It's like a gumdrop!" Ried grinned. Meredy jumped for joy.

"Yay, Meredy likes gumdrops!" the strange Celestian girl danced around happily. Unfortunately, it also looked like she needed to go to the bathroom, and the lady behind the counter was about to show her where it was when Meredy suddenly stopped.

"Farah choose for Meredy," she giggled. Farah folded her arms and beamed with pride.

"I've got good taste!" she joked, hitting Reid on the back. "I'm not the one wearing the ugly hat, Reid."

Reid blushed, pouting. "Better than a dress!" He said it too fast. Farah hit him, thinking the comment was directed toward her.

"I'm a girl, remember?"

"Yea, yea."

With a few more complaints, the four companions left the store. The girls were far in the lead, out the door and playing in the snow before the boys left. Reid managed to smack Keele's behind on the way out, whispering the word 'sucker' on grinning lips.

Had Keele been born with a backbone, he would have punched Reid out cold. Since he wasn't, he let the redhead sling an arm around his shoulders.

"…I still think your hair down is cuter," Reid whispered.

This time, Keele hit him, hard.

It was inevitable.

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Comment, please:D I love comments, even stinky ones. I just played this part of the game, and had to write something. XD_


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